i sent you PM did you get it?

I pay mine monthly

correct, say you thought they had been cancelled and you were only getting child tax credit not including childcare you will still get tax credits and can pay a little each month

Hi Rachel, honestly just call the number on your letter and speak to someone, just tell them you have had someone staying with you for however long, you have claimed for nursery fees you shouldnt have honestly the lady will sort this out smartish and you just say what happens now, how do i pay this back etc. they will do the rest and then you just pay it up.

They will say thats fine you will here from us shortly, a letter will come with what you own and a telephone number to allow you to set up a payment plan to pay the money back

I can see what your saying, I was just saying i have a little more insight into this than i'd care to put on these forumsand from my experiences they dont prosecute but as you said ever case is individual dependant on what other evidence they have etc. the likelyhood is they will have been watching you and if you have been staying there they will know about it - so if your telling the truth then you shouldnt worry just stick to your guns.if as you said you will be better off when you claim together I dont see how they can claim it back - you could go down the notional offset route and then they will owe you money which you wont see btwRegardsJ

Im sorry to disagreebut i was in same boat and i owed them around the same amount they cut it down for this n that and never charged me a penalty and are taking weekly payments that i can afordI would apeal it all the way and as i said in PM they can only take what you have to give

I know i might be a little late in replying sorryyou may well have had this sorted by now or notjust to let you know i was in the same boat and have stepped in your shoes you wont be prosecuted firstly - and i didnt even get a penaltyi owe then £20,000 and they just ask how much you can pay a month/weektell them as little as possible and then if you can aford a little more its a bonusmost importantly dont worryi did got myself in some state had myself in prison and flinging myself of a cliff but now my life is back to normal and i am just £70 worst off a monthJ

Hifirstly please dont worry yourself into an early grave like I almost did.You just stick to your gunsthe worst that can happen is they take you to court but going on what you have said wont happenif you are as you say better off now they tend to write them off against each other - this happened to my friendif they do take you to court you have nothing to loose cos all they will do is ask you to pay back the moneyand thats nothing worst than the situation your in, they are not going to put you in prison - i know someone who is paying back £10,000 at £5 a week I remember the guy in CAB saying "they cant get water from a dry lake" and its true if you avent got it they cant take itI am now nearly 6 months down the line from where you are and my life is back to normal mostlystick to your guns and tell the truth - they have to prove otherwiseJ

yip just tell them the story how much you want to tell them is up to you - they will advise and put your mind at rest they can only tell tax credits what you want them to they cant do anything without your concent and everything is in confidence Joanne

Hi sorry i never seen this post earlier. thanks for that info. thats very interesting they have sent a letter stating that they believe my ex "is part of your household for tax credit purposes" so does that mean they think he stays here or that even though he doesnt stay here we should still be a joint claim? They are saying because he is on the house docs house insurance we have joint account this is only the mortgage account he is on my car insurance he picks up the kids we eat together sometimes we socialise at weekends with kids we have gone on holiday with kids in the past he makes dinner sometimes in my house he does some household chores like the dishes or runs the hoover over he gives me £200 per month towards mortgage this being his half but he still doesnt stay here still doesnt pay bills is this right should we be a joint claim?? Jo

yeh its awful, they say they are making it easier for people to work but i dont see that I have 2 kids one of which at school, my other one is in full time nursery which is costing £650 per month so yes the tax credits would be very helpfull. but now after 2 years they are wanting all their money back its a nightmare my son just tunred 3 so will get a so called free place in council nursery, in reality they are only giving you a free place for a half session which for anyone who works full time is useless or you can get 2 1/2 hours in a playgroup (these are the ones situated in the schools) which again is useless!! so people who work fulltime have to put their children into private nurserys fulltime which are costing approx £650 per month these free places are aimed at people who dont work and can nip away to pick up and collect kids anytime they like if i worked part-time this might be perfect but surly these nurserys have to give you a place to fit round your work not tell you to fit your work around their free 2 and 1/2 hours nightmare!! so long & short is i have had no option but to put kids in childcare and claim tax credits to help with the nursery fees they ought to give free childcare for all working parents then we wouldnt have to claim tax credits obtain your P60 get a free entitlement notice take it to nursery of choice bobs your uncle. the childcare would be responsible for claiming the money back from the government

i think alot of people like me will take the easy option and pay them back and have nothing to do with benefits ever again

I think your right i dont think they would be able to prove he stayed with me as he doesnt if they have been watching like big brother then they will have clear evidence that he doesnt stay here but im so scared of going to court incase for some unbelieveable reason i get found guilty and end up in jail for doing nothing wrong im petrified about going to jail and most importantly loosing my kids who would prob be put into care if that happened Jo

the story so far well so far they hav said they have made their decision and they are stopping my tax credits and i owe it all back. they saying from what i can understand that even though my ex isnt staying with me he is stil part of the household ? or still has a relationship with the household and contributed in a way like making kids dinners and doing the dishes i think thats what shes saying. so now they have stopped my tax credit award from april 2009 and saying i owe them everything back. i think if this is the case then i will have to find out what a joint claim with my ex would have been over the last 2 years and work out what i owe them i really dont know what now. they have said they are stopping my claim and i dont get an offset they dont need to know what i would have been getting as a joint claim as the total claim of nearly £20,000 is due back? i hve been doing some research and found this they can only offset if claimants wrongly made a claim for tax credits as a single claimant or couple as the result of ‘genuine error’ – eg, a genuine misunderstanding of the rules about who constitutes a couple for tax credit purposes. It does not apply where an overpayment arises because of a failure to notify the arrival or departure of a partner i.e. a change of circumstances during an award. which means i think i could have it offset as i wasnt aware that if a partner doesnt stay with you but does contribute like above then it should be a joint claim, but im going to go and speak to the CAB about this has anyone have any info on this as to whether this is right - should this not be offset as i can find out what my ex salary was in the past from him and they can work out what the difference would have been but what then happens if i move on or he does - if he decided to get a new woman and house had kids and still had the same set up at my house helping with kids etc. would we still have to make a joint claim that doesnt make sense Jo

Hi claire I would like to re-assure you i mailed you earlier The tax credit helpline will work with you to pay back anything owed and cannot leave you in financial hardship with your children please do as i did and contact a C.A.B. advice line they will get you an appointment near you as quick as they can and you dont have to tell them anything you dont want to you dont even have to give your name on phone just ask anything you like and they will advise. please mail me and i can fill you in on my story so far Take Care Joanne xx

thanks for all your advice its made me slightly better and i will defo get to CAB next week im scared they will think he has been here all the time and take me to court take my kids and i end up in jail everything running through my mind but hoping i get this sorted fast cos my life seems to be rolling by and i havent noticed what day it is, the kids are noticing and asking when dads comming to see them, they never bothered afore when they havent seen him in weeks/months now it seems like they have intuition about these things and are asking for him i get so upset every time i look t them

i have called them and i have an appointment next thursday but i cant go till then without help with this i have to give the lady at hmrc what shes looking for by monday 24th so that doesnt give me much time really. he left me pregnant in 2005 and disapeared basically with the odd visit to his daughter then we tried a reconcillation at end of 2006 and as he had the right to buy i took the chance to buy the house and he stayed for a bit but again he left and i got pregnant with my second child again he wasnt there for period and turned up again when my child was born in 08 and since then it has been him comming in and out of my life but he hasnt been staying with me but has been about a lot he does stay on occasion which i did tell the lady on the phone its just a mess

no i dont know who to go see i cant afore a lawyer i work full time and think i wont get legal aid i know they cant stop him visiting but i dont want them thinking im lying to them so ive now told him to limit his visits he would usually come up and see them every other night and when they have gone to bed he leaves so they are none the wiser they think he works constantly when in reality he hasnt been working or has had very little work for the past year which is another reason why would i not just say he was with me if he was cos we would get the same tax credits anyway. my relationship with him is a mess and he had been in and out my life like a yoyo should i tell them that or will that make it look like im hiding something. the way i feel right now i just wish i had claimed nothing and stayed at home and looked after my kids instead of nursery which i would have loved to have done but couldnt afore to do. if they want all their money back they can have it but i have no money to give them can they take my house off me?

I have no idea where he is registered if anywhere if thats the case that he cant get credit or bank account that could be the reason he's used my address as i still had him on the elec role for a while afore i eventually got round to changing it - i kinda thought stupidly that if he owns half the house then he has to be on the elec role at mine until someone told me different i mean do they think i would let him take out stuff at my address and do his work stuff from my address when i knew that may affect my tax credits ive been in tears since monday i cant sleep and and sinking further and further down the slope.. my kids are asking when dads comming to see them cos now im scared to even let him come visit his kids its such a mess

what would he not be telling me?

there may be a chance his mums put him on hers but he seems to think hes not registered anywhere i think he actually thought he was still registered here but i know he isnt cos i took him off it this is half his house and he seems to think he can use this address i he wants

as far as ive been told he isnt at his mums and i know i dont have him here

his dad lives there too so i dont think she would be doing tht but i dont know he isnt anywhere on the electoral register not here or at his mums

I have had a look but cant see any similar cases to mine other than them going to see him in his mums i dont see how i can proove he is there im so worried